With heavy handles and soft, distinctly trimmed bristles, this five-piece set contains a useful lineup of easy-to-use brushes. It isn’t the cheapest set out there, but it rivals more expensive individual brushes in quality and performance.
If you want to learn more, please visit our website Green Brush.
A lot of makeup brush sets are a racket—tons of brushes you don’t need packaged alongside just a couple you do, for a price that seems too good to be true. At about $16 a brush, the Sigma Most-Wanted Brush Set was the most expensive set we tried. But as we quickly found, it’s worth every penny. Each brush is unique, useful, and well constructed, with expertly cut bristles and smooth, substantial handles. If you’re looking for one set that does it all, with no compromises in quality or performance, this five-brush Sigma set is a standout choice.
The bristles are nuanced and feel expensive. All the sets we tried had synthetic bristles, and their quality and performance varied widely. The Sigma brushes’ fibers are dense, grabby, and smooth, nothing like the plasticky bristles in the BS-Mall 14 Pcs Brush Set we tested or the floppy ones in the E.L.F. Cosmetics Professional Set of 12 Makeup Brushes. On top of that, whereas competitors largely use the same fibers on every brush, each Sigma style has a customized shape and feel. The brown and white bristles on the set’s F80 Flat Kabuki are stiff, wide, and flat, while the black hairs on the F35 Tapered Highlighter are trimmed in a steep, bendy dome.
The handles are heavy and high quality. Heavier handles are easier to maneuver, allowing a more solid purchase and grip. The shiny polymer Sigma brush handles are similarly substantial and pleasantly weighted. The F80 weighs 1.55 ounces, at least a half an ounce more than comparable brushes (BS-Small Face Flat, E.L.F. Total Face, Real Techniques 200) from other sets. Only one foundation brush we tried, the IT Cosmetics Heavenly Luxe Flat Top Buffing Foundation Brush #6, had a similar weight—but at about $50, it’s also three times the price.
It includes a smart mix of brushes. You can easily find sets that offer more brushes for less money. But most people are likely to get the most use out of the five brushes in the Sigma set: foundation (F80), powder/highlighter/contour (F35), eyeshadow (E25), eyeshadow blending (E40), and small detail (E30). Sure, the 14-piece BS-Mall set costs only $10, but it’s filled with a confounding array of redundant options, including seven different eyeshadow brushes and five nearly identical face brushes. Ultimately, we decided that it was better to invest in fewer, more useful, and higher-quality brushes.
The brushes are versatile and effective. All five of the Sigma brushes impressed our panelists with their performance. The dense, tapered F35 deposited powder beautifully on the high points of the face and softly buffed out harsh contour lines; another tester set undereye concealer with powder and that very same brush. The E25 blending brush picked up just enough eyeshadow from the pan and blended out pigment evenly without patchiness. The F80 foundation brush was a treat to use, with sharp edges to reach tricky inner corners and a great bounce for even stippling.
The set lacks a large powder brush, which is essential for many people doing even basic makeup applications. We used the F35 to dust powder in smaller zones of the face, but it wouldn’t work well for larger coverage areas.
With dense bristles and an angled shape that mimics fingertip application, this foundation brush leaves a seamless finish. It’s one of the priciest we tried, but the quality and performance more than justify the price.
The Hourglass Ambient Soft Glow Foundation Brush nails our nonnegotiables: The soft, tightly packed bristles pick up just the right amount of product, the slanted brush head effortlessly smooths on makeup, and there’s zero bristle fallout. Although other, cheaper brushes share some of those qualities, this Hourglass brush is worth the splurge, delivering an airbrushed, skinlike finish even for makeup newbies. In our tests, the brush’s most unusual feature—the sloped curve of its bristles, which the company says mimics fingertip application—really was a game-changing attribute and the best we found.
It’s just the right size. The Hourglass brush is shorter than all but one of the six other foundation options our panelists tested, but that gave us more control when blending foundation in creases and divots around the eyes and nose. Its compact and sturdy feel helps you buff out streaks or get into the smaller, trickier areas of the face.
The densely packed bristles are springy and resilient. The fibers on the Hourglass brush are so tight and packed that the brush tip almost bounces off your face, making for a quick, even application. The company says that the brush heads are hand-shaped, not machine cut, and we did find the curve subtle and bespoke. We also tried the BK Beauty 101 Contoured Foundation Brush, which blended nicely, but some testers said the brush head was too large, and Lancôme’s Airbrush #2 had overly long bristles that streaked every time.
The bristles spread cream and liquid foundations equally well. Both putty-like cream and slippery liquid formulas blended out beautifully with the Hourglass brush. One panelist liked how she could spread her thick stick formula seamlessly, getting in nooks and crannies with the brush’s firm edges. Another found the shape perfect for a lightweight liquid: “Because the brush is so easy to control, I can pick and choose where I build up coverage.”
It feels fancy and expensive. The pretty ombre bristles, which the company says mimic goat hair, the cool metal handle, and the elegant angled ferrule are a pleasure to wield. Admittedly, at the time of our testing this brush cost about $10 more than any other foundation brushes our panelists tried, but that was a small price to pay for a joyful little luxury that our testers delighted in using every day.
The short, angled, and tightly packed bristles require a little more effort to wash—they take a good number of rinse-throughs until the water runs clear—but this wasn’t enough of a drawback to bother any of our panelists.
With a flat, fanned end to cut sharp lines and a fluffy side to blend and finish, this two-in-one brush simplifies the sometimes-complex art of contouring.
There’s just something lovely about the Patrick Ta Beauty Major Sculpt Dual-Ended Sculpting Brush. In our tests, it turned even the most ambivalent contour users into true believers. Ta is a celebrity makeup artist responsible for the glam of Gigi Hadid, among others, and some people in the industry credit him for popularizing an everyday contour. This brush—one end is thin for sculpting cheeks and jawline, while the other is bigger for blending—certainly demonstrates a mastery of the contour craft.
Its dual heads are especially effective and convenient. This is the only double-ended contour brush that our panelists tried, and it stole the show. Unlike with other dual-ended brushes we tried, such as the Makeup By Mario F4 Dual-Ended Foundation and Face Brush and the IT Cosmetics Heavenly Luxe Complexion Perfection Brush #7, each end of this brush has a distinct shape, firmness, and density. You’re really getting two brushes for the price of one, both of which are essential to get a contour right. For beginners on our panel, the two unique shapes allowed for a lot of quick back-and-forth fiddling and perfecting, with no need to juggle two different brushes. More experienced testers found that the angled side put product right where they wanted it efficiently. “I didn’t want to use any other contour brush after this,” one tester said.
The pinched ferrule on the fanned end flattens the bristles perfectly. The fanned end of this brush applied cream contour better than all the other brushes we tried, as some competitors were too wide, which made makeup lines muddy, and other, too-skinny designs created unblendable stripes. The powder end was likewise awesome: The fluffy, softly sloped bristles made it simple to blend the whole look together, add powder bronzer on top, or apply the finest layer of setting powder to complete the look.
It’s a great investment for the contour-curious. Many staffers shared that they would love to try contouring but weren’t solid on the technique and were hesitant to buy a brush that they might use only a few times. The Patrick Ta brush demystifies the draw-blend-set process. But more important, it’s versatile. Even on days when testers weren’t contouring, they found themselves reaching for this Patrick Ta brush as their go-to powder brush; the flattened end is lovely for buffing out cream blush, too.
The price is fair for two brushes. Although $45 seems pricey for one brush, when you consider that it’s two-in-one, the price per brush ends up being less than that of many of the competitors we tested and didn’t like as much.
Dual-sided brushes are hard to store—if you store them vertically, one end is always getting smooshed or dirty. You may prefer horizontal storage and more frequent brush cleaning.
Although it’s made entirely of recycled materials, you wouldn’t know it: This poufy powder brush has sophisticated matte bristles and a pretty metallic handle with a satisfying heft. It performs perfectly whether you want just a whisper of powder or a sharper look.
You can find thousands of fluffy powder brushes out there. After extensive research, we chose four of the top-rated, best-selling, and artist-favorite options to panel-test at home. The Jenny Patinkin Sustainable Luxury Powder/Bronzer Brush won us over, passing our tests with flying colors. The dome head was silky-soft and fluffy, with an elegant taper that still lent true control. The weighted metal handle felt luxurious, even though this brush wasn’t the most expensive option we tested in this category.
The uncoated bristles closely resemble natural fibers. One knock on synthetic bristles is that they can be too shiny and plasticky, repelling powder and product rather than picking it up. In contrast, the bristles of this brush are matte and subtly crimped—in a good way. One tester who regularly made a mess of her vanity with a flurry of loose setting powder found that the problem vanished as soon as she started using the Jenny Patinkin brush and its grippy, grabby bristles.
The dome shape is versatile. The Jenny Patinkin brush is the platonic ideal of a powder brush: poufy and pampering, delivering a diffuse wash of color or translucent powder over the entire face with no sharp lines. It’s just fun to use. And the sharply sculpted dome—the most angled of the powder brushes we tested—also lets you pull off targeted, controlled techniques. One tester found it exceptional for swiping bronzer down her nose and along the highest points of her cheeks. The Real Techniques Ultra Plush Makeup Brush 400 has a similar shape, but two panelists found that its bristles felt too floppy and splayed.
The entire brush is made from recycled materials. For this guide, we considered only brushes with synthetic bristles, which are cruelty-free but not necessarily better for the environment. This Jenny Patinkin brush, however, is made entirely from post-consumer materials—both the bristles and the aluminum handle.
We can’t ignore that $40 isn’t cheap for one brush and might not be in everyone’s budget. Our affordable runners-up are the Real Techniques Ultra Plush Powder Brush 400 ($10) and the Sigma F11 (about $30).
One end of this dual-ended eyebrow brush features springy but ultrafirm bristles ideal for filling patchy zones and replicating individual strands. On the other is a fibrous, elegant spoolie for expertly combing, blending, and shaping.
Whether your brows are bushy and beautiful or sad and sparse, you’ll likely want a dedicated brush for them, with both an angled bristle tip and a spoolie end. The Anastasia Beverly Hills Brush 12 deftly serves all brow types, adding precise, hairlike strokes with a sharp angled tip or combing through thick, tangly hairs with a long, grippy spoolie. At $18, it’s the most expensive brow brush we tested, but for a few dollars more than others we tried, it’s far and away more versatile, high-quality, and worth every penny.
The skinny end is stiff and tapered, so it works almost like a pencil. This brush is small but mighty, with nice, stiff bristles that pick up product in one go. The fibers are tightly packed, so they lay down the product without gumming up the brush. In comparison, one tester found the E.L.F. Eyebrow Duo Brush “too bendy and diffuse.”
The bristles create a perfect natural look. Our testers loved this brush and found it the easiest for drawing on the most realistic hairlike strokes with any cream, powder, or pomade. We broke out a protractor, and lo and behold, the Anastasia brow brush boasted the sharpest angle, at 40 degrees. Similar brushes we tested, namely the E.L.F. brow brush, the Sonia Kashuk Professional Angled Eyeliner Makeup Brush, and the Tweezerman Angled Brow Brush & Spoolie, were angled at 33, 35, and 38 degrees, respectively, and they delivered blunter, heavier, and less refined lines.
The spoolie is long, conical, and strong. Although we tried some brow brushes (Sonia Kashuk) that lacked a spoolie, we ultimately agreed that it’s an essential tool for taming hairs, either to shape existing brows or to brush out brow gel. The spoolie on this Anastasia brush is not so long that it becomes unwieldy, nor is it annoyingly short and stubby (as was the case with both the E.L.F. and Tweezerman brow brushes we tested). One tester’s toddler performed an unsanctioned strength test, jamming a few spoolies into the holes of a shower drain. Unlike two other brushes that snapped, the Anastasia spoolie survived in one piece.
It’s great for other eye makeup, too. Yes, you’re spending $18 on a single brush, but our testers found themselves using this brush for makeup applications beyond their brows. The angled end was particularly adept at laying down thin bands of eyeliner and shadow right at the lashline, and the spoolie handily declumped mascara and detangled lash extensions.
Like the Patrick Ta dual-ended brush, this two-fer brush is tricky to stash vertically in a vanity-top container—it doesn’t have a cap, so it always rests on one brush end. If you can’t store the brush flat, rest it on its spoolie end, since that end wipes clean easily.
With a soft exterior and a flexible, bouncy feel, this makeup sponge is often imitated but never duplicated. You can’t beat the flawless finish the surprisingly luxe foam delivers.
This bouncy, egg-shaped sponge created the category and rendered old-school powder puffs more or less obsolete. To our eyes, the seemingly unanimous hype around the Beautyblender Original Makeup Sponge seemed too good to be true—especially considering that it costs $20, five times as much as notable competitors. But after testing 10 others, we found that the Beautyblender sponge really is that good. Its signature shape, superior foam, and nuanced elasticity had it springing to the top of our list.
It creates an almost airbrushed finish. The Beautyblender sponge perfectly blends and applies pretty much all your makeup—cream, powder, and liquid. One panelist found that it worked especially well for “baking,” or layering powder over foundation and concealer to set makeup, especially in the undereye area; the sponge handled even the finest powder without causing it to fall or flurry everywhere. Plain and simple: “It finishes a makeup look flawlessly.”
Its curves fit all facial contours. In theory, we liked the faceted shape and flat planes of the AOA Studio Collection Makeup Sponge, the E.L.F. Total Face Blending Sponge, and the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge, and we thought they would spread more makeup in less time. In practice, however, they encouraged streaky strokes. The Beautyblender sponge’s narrow end is by far the pointiest, for super-accurate use in small areas of your face. (You also won’t waste any product by dabbing it on your lips or eyelids.)
The foam expands, but not too much. Beautyblender sponges are meant to be used moist, and they visibly expand when wet, though not as much as the Real Techniques sponge, which in our tests got even bigger but not in a good way, feeling mushy and waterlogged compared with the Beautyblender sponge’s yummy, bouncy texture. Even when wet, the Beautyblender sponge’s plumped-up surface area allows you to cover more of your face, without sacrificing nimbleness and gentle precision.
It will help you save makeup. Moistening the Beautyblender sponge creates a barrier that keeps makeup from sinking in and wasting product. One tester, though she couldn’t quantify by the milliliter, said that she used a lot less of her favorite liquid foundation with the Beautyblender sponge. In contrast, the plush, cottony makeup pads we tested (E.L.F. Halo Glow Powder Puff, Real Techniques Miracle 2-in-1 Powder Puff) seemed to sop it right up.
Damp sponges can harbor mold, and at $20 you probably don’t want to keep replacing yours. Cleaning the sponge—lathering it, rinsing it, blotting it repeatedly—is a process, but an essential one.
Brushes from this brand—which have soft, distinctive bristles, substantial aluminum ferrules, and elegant shapes—are unparalleled for the price. The packaged sets, like this one, sometimes have unnecessary extras, though.
Cheap makeup brushes are easy to find—and with their plasticky, shedding-prone bristles, chintzy handles, and noxious off-gas fumes, you often get what you pay for. But if budget is your primary concern, or you don’t use makeup brushes often, you can’t do better than almost any brush from Real Techniques. The bristles are matte and grippy, the weighted metallic handles feel high-quality, and the dome shapes are unique and sculptural. We recommend that you buy them individually for your specific needs. If you do want a cheap set, the Real Techniques Artist Essentials Makeup Brush Set is your best bet, with a few caveats.
The sets aren’t great, so buy individual brushes. The two most practical-looking Real Techniques sets—Everyday Essentials and Artist Essentials (pictured)—both left us scratching our heads. The former had redundant brushes and not much variety, and the latter was almost too specialized for most makeup wearers. You’d be better off cherry-picking the exact styles you need, even if the cost per brush ends up slightly higher. We especially like the Ultra Plush Makeup Brush 400 and the Soft Sculpting Makeup Brush 450.
Some Wirecutter staffers said they love their Real Techniques brushes. Supervising editor Hannah Rimm is a big fan of the Expert Face Makeup Brush 200 and Deluxe Crease Brush 300. She uses the former mostly for powdering under her eyes; the latter, she says, is versatile. It’s her go-to for blending eyeshadow and finishing her concealer.
They hold their own against pricier brushes. Because we did not reveal prices to our panelists, we pitted spendy brushes against cheapies. Although Real Techniques never outright won a category over much more expensive options, its brushes always ranked well with our testers. And when we narrowed the focus to affordability, this brand was the runaway winner. “This applies way better than I thought it would, and it’s easy to use,” one tester said of the Real Techniques Ultra Plush Makeup Brush, likening it to our pick from Jenny Patinkin, which is $30 more.
For the quality, the price per brush is impressive. Each brush in the Real Techniques Artist Essentials set is only about $3. In sets we liked from other brands, that price was closer to $15 per piece. Granted, there are cheaper brush options—the E.L.F. set we considered comes out to just $1 a brush. But our panelists found annoying loose bristles, and the handles were too short to hold comfortably.
The bristles are soft and dense. While the Real Techniques bristles aren’t quite as believably natural-seeming as other synthetic fibers we tried, these brushes blow similarly priced rivals (BS-Mall, E.L.F., Sephora Collection) out of the water in that regard. They emit no unpleasant off-gassing, each dome is uniquely shaped and well trimmed, and they’re textured enough to hold on to powder and liquid makeup alike.
The aluminum handles feel substantial. The Real Techniques brushes’ metal handles have a nice weight, putting the heaviness at the base of the handle and nicely balancing the brush when it’s angled upward against the face. It’s the best feel we found for the price. The durable, sturdy feel of the full-size handles also pleased our testers, whereas other budget options we used had stumpier—and less user-friendly—grips.
The bundles include some oddly shaped and redundant tools. Brush for brush, the brushes included in the Sigma Most-Wanted Brush Set are far and away more convenient and useful. But if you are trying to save money and have the inclination to poke around a bit, the Real Techniques individual brushes are great.
You can find two primary types of brush bristles: natural and synthetic. The former are made from animal hair, such as goat, sable, and squirrel. The latter are made from cruelty-free materials such as nylon, polyester, Taklon, and micro crystal fiber. Some makeup artists we interviewed said that they stock some natural-bristle brushes in their own kits—and we’ve tried them over the years, too. But in addition to animal-cruelty concerns, natural-bristle brushes are notably more expensive but not notably different in performance. So for this guide, we focused on synthetic brushes only.
For background, I clicked through archives of beauty awards from other publications, such as Allure Best of Beauty and Byrdie, and I tallied up mentions in roundups from CNN Underscored, People, Essence, Forbes Reviewed, Refinery 29, Vogue, and Women’s Wear Daily. I considered only those articles for which the editors or writers had firsthand experience with the products, or makeup artists vouched for them personally. I avoided laundry-list search-bait roundups. I dove into Reddit threads and watched enough brush-themed TikToks that the category took over my algorithm for months.
As a freelance beauty writer, I attend a lot of product-launch events; over the course of my research for this guide, I polled experts in the field, artists, product developers, founders, and writers, and I included their insights in my research.
Then I surveyed 10 working makeup artists and asked them to share their favorite brushes in six categories, which I put into consideration—minus one with goat-hair bristles. Once I had assembled an enormous spreadsheet of contenders, I cross-checked my list with reviews on the websites of Amazon, Nordstrom, Sephora, and Ulta, among individual retailers, to come up with a list of more than 70 brushes worth testing.
I also capped the price at $50 per brush, which eliminated options from luxury brands using rare materials like sustainably sourced birch handles.
Then, we focused on four pillars:
For several months, I used the brushes in my daily life, doing a range of makeup looks—the simple face I apply for talking on Zoom and running errands, as well as more extensive looks for going to events like the GLAAD Media Awards. I found four sets and 32 individual brushes notable enough to send to a panel of experienced makeup users for a second round of testing. The panel provided feedback according to the same rubric outlined above. They evaluated expensive brushes alongside cheaper picks, judging them on the same metrics.
Anisa Pinnacle Foundation Brush: This runner-up foundation brush was a favorite of some panelists, who found the quality of the bristles top-notch and the density just right for blending out cream and liquid foundation. The unusual triangular domed brush head was especially good for getting into corners, such as around the nose, but was also wide enough to cover larger areas. The weighted handle was more controversial among our testers: Some loved the tapered, grabbable shape, while others found it too big and bulky.
BK Beauty 101 Contoured Foundation Brush: This TikTok-viral brush sells out often, and we can see why. Some panelists liked how this soft, fluffier brush applied and blended product especially smoothly across the face. They also loved its elegant look, with its ombre bristles. Ultimately, it’s just a runner-up because testers found the head not firm enough, the bristles too “floppy,” and the makeup application not as precise as they wanted.
Alleyoop Multi-Tasker: Our testers particularly liked this four-in-one tool for travel, as it features a blush/bronzer brush on one end and a replaceable sponge on the other that then twist off to reveal, matryoshka-style, smaller brushes for brows/eyeliner and eyeshadow. Thanks to its ingenious compactness and portability, this tool was clutch for our testers, though they were less impressed with the long-term quality of its bristles.
In the BS-Mall 14 Pcs Brush Set, testers found that the bristles were too rough and not packed densely enough. They also said that several of the brushes in the set served duplicative purposes. All of our testers noted a plasticky off-gas smell upon opening the packaging. We found a better assortment in the E.L.F. Cosmetics Professional Set of 12 Makeup Brushes, but we encountered some loose bristles and improperly cut shapes. Testers also said that the short handles were difficult to control.
The Sonia Kashuk Luminate Collection Complete Brush Set was too chunky, awkward, and inelegant. The Sephora Collection Complete Makeup Brush Set was the exact opposite—so lightweight and insubstantial, one tester likened it to “a kid’s toy set of brushes.”
The EcoTools Core Five Set shed too much, and the Morphe Get Things Started 8-Piece set (no longer available) had crudely shaped brush heads (with the exception of the Morphe Chubby Buffer Concealer Brush).
The E.L.F. Cosmetics Buffing Foundation Brush was a nice size, but its bristles were too floppy and sparse, creating a streaky application. Meanwhile, the soft, dense bristles of the IT Cosmetics Heavenly Luxe Flat Top Buffing Foundation Brush #6 had some fans, but its thick handle was awkward to hold. When considering the two-in-one Lancôme Airbrush #2, our testers really liked only the concealer end—the bristles of the larger foundation end were “too squishy” to apply product well.
The NYX Total Control Drop Foundation Brush had an unusual angular brush head, but it’s really designed only for use with liquid foundation. Both the Monika Blunder Hybrid Cream Brush and the M.A.C. 170 Synthetic Rounded Slant Brush felt too insubstantial for their price.
Lastly, the Morphe M406 Large Foundation & Blush Stippling Brush had coarse, poky bristles, and the bristles on the M.A.C. 187S Synthetic Duo Fibre Face Brush were too stiff and not wide enough for an efficient full-face application.
Even though Kevyn Aucoin’s Contour Brush has a gorgeous handle and a luxurious, heavy feel, our testers said the bristles weren’t angled enough, and the small dome failed to pick up enough product. Similarly, the soft, sparser bristles of the M.A.C. 168 Synthetic Large Angled Contour Brush didn’t grab enough powder, though our testers liked the way it buffed for a finished look.
For something at the top of our price range, the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Brush shed too many bristles. Neither of the two brush ends of IT Cosmetics’s Heavenly Luxe Complexion Perfection Brush #7 was the right size for contouring tasks, and this brush was at the tippy-top of our price range. Many people like Laura Geller’s Angled Blush Brush for contour, and it was our panel’s strongest contender for runner-up for that purpose, but testers ultimately preferred it more for diffuse blush application than for precise contouring.
Our testers thought the Charlotte Tilbury Powder & Sculpt Brush was too skinny for all-over bronzer application; they preferred it for more precise work with highlighter and contouring. The Real Techniques Ultra Plush Blush Makeup Brush, on the other hand, was too big, with bristles that were “too sloppy, too splayed out,” as well as a plastic handle that felt a little crude.
The Ulta Bronzer Blush #21 Brush (discontinued) felt flimsy in the hand and shed way too many bristles, and the Róen Everything Powder brush had a lot of the same assets as the Jenny Patinkin pick but cost 25% more. Finally, while Jones Road’s The Everything Brush is designed as a multitasker for bronzer, blush, powder, and more, our testers found the bristles too stubby and stiff.
Our panelists had doubly high standards for dual-ended eyebrow brush-spoolie combos, and many options failed to clear both hurdles. For instance, testers liked the spoolie on the E.L.F. Cosmetics Eyebrow Duo Brush but found the brush too bendy and wide.
The Sonia Kashuk Professional Angled Eyeliner Makeup Brush No. 246 was also too big, and it lacked a spoolie altogether. The Sigma E80 Brow and Lash Brush, on the (literal) flip side, was just a spoolie. The Mykitco My Groom & Fill Brush can be hard to come by, and it wasn’t exceptional enough to warrant an in-search-of-Sasquatch–style hunt. Testers loved almost everything about the Tweezerman Angled Brow Brush & Spoolie, but it lost out to the Anastasia model because its brush was a bit too narrow and its spoolie was just a touch too short for those with bushier brows.
A classic flat velour puff, the E.L.F. Cosmetics Halo Glow Powder Puff worked well for applying setting powder and tamping down shine, but our testers much preferred the egg-like sponges. The similarly flat Real Techniques Miracle 2-in-1 Powder Puff was difficult to clean—especially considering that the sponge side sopped up too much product.
Both the Beauty Bakerie Blending Egg Beauty Sponge and the DSMD Swirl Sponges had a nice ovoid form, but neither expanded enough when moistened, and both felt too hard against the face.
As much as our panelists initially liked the shape and facets of the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge, the foam was too dense, and the sponge was too large to get into smaller areas such as under the eyes and in the creases around the nose. One tester loved the bounciness—and the sub-$2.00 price tag—of the AOA Studio Collection Makeup Sponge Set but found that the sponge ended up soaking up too much product.
Rory Evans contributed reporting. This article was edited by Hannah Morrill and Jennifer Hunter.
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Makeup brushes are integral to achieving a flawless, airbrushed look that’ll help you face your day with confidence. However, the extensive selection of brushes available on the market can make the buying experience intimidating. If you happen to buy a multi-pack set, you might not even know all of the makeup brushes’ names, or be able to discern their specific uses. Sure, using your finger as an applicator is a tried and true way to apply foundation, but if you want to graduate from amateur to pro in the beauty world, you need to arm yourself with the right knowledge to make it happen.
Investigating all the types of makeup brushes is a daunting challenge alone. So, we’ve distilled the options down to the most useful and multi-use tools. Knowing how to use makeup brushes allows for the precision and control you need to achieve a diverse range of looks.
Do you have a specific makeup brush you’re looking for? Check out our makeup brushes guide below to get the information you need—you’ll be on your way to slaying in no time:
Gently dusting loose powder products across your face.
A powder brush is generally a thick, full-fibered brush—either synthetic or natural—that has the versatility to perform a multitude of beauty jobs. This omnipresent makeup brush (you can hardly find a makeup set without it) is an important tool to have in your makeup arsenal.
To use a powder brush for foundation, dip the brush into the powdered product—applicable for both pressed and loose powders—and swirl in circles or sweeping strokes until you achieve even coverage. Pro tip: it’s easier to ensure adequate application if you start in the middle of your face and work your way out.
This is an exceptional beginner multi-tool, especially for use as a mineral foundation brush, because it’s simple to blend and work in your product.
Of all the types of makeup brushes, powder brushes are well-suited for adding color like blush when you want a more natural, less pigmented result. Think a dusting of rosy cheeks instead of a dramatic, deeply-hued look.
Precise application of foundation, highlight, or blush.
Tapered foundation brushes are usually flat, less full in form, with a gentle taper. These brushes are best for liquid foundation and other liquid products. If you are having trouble deciding on a type of foundation, learn more about the different types of foundation here. To use, start by dipping your brush in warm water then gently squeezing out the excess. If it’s hot and you’re prone to sweating, use cool water for a more refreshing application experience.
The water serves two functions here: one, to ensure an even coat of your foundation and two, to keep the brush from absorbing any of the foundation—saving you money since the brush won’t soak up any of your makeup. However, take care to remove the water by gently squeezing excess water out into a towel; too much moisture will dilute your makeup, making the product’s coverage ineffective.
To apply makeup using a foundation brush, guide the brush along your face in even strokes. Take care to ensure that the makeup is blended in and no harsh lines are left behind. Again, it’s often easier to start in the middle and work your way outward.
Many types of makeup brushes are multi-use, so don’t be afraid to use your flat foundation brush to apply a little highlighter to your temples or spot-correct, too.
Creating a flawless, airbrushed look.
A stippled brush has a striking appearance—the fibers are of two distinct lengths. The bulk of the brush is full fibered and tightly packed with longer fibers interspersed. Stippling brushes are great for layering different levels of makeup. Primer, foundation, and blush can be seamlessly worked together with this type of tool.
While stippling brushes can be used with powders, its best use is for liquid cream foundation or cream blush products. To use, put cream blush or foundation on the back of your hand, carefully dip the brush into product and stipple onto face.
How do you “stipple” exactly? Use small motions to push the brush down onto your face. Think of a gentle makeup pogo stick. After the initial stipples, it’s time to utilize those longer bristles. Gently press down with the longer bristles and make soft swirling motions. Don’t push too hard with the bristles because too much pressure will end up leaving puddles of makeup—so far, that hasn’t been a makeup trend, so best to avoid it.
Applying loose powder or body shimmer.
Kabuki brushes are some of the most impressive looking brushes. They’re often of the larger variety, with tightly packed fibers, however, you can get a travel-sized mini kabuki brush as well. They’re best to use with loose powders on body and face. Want to add some shimmer to your décolletage? Swirl your illuminizing product in large circles for a magical, illustrious finish.
Kabuki brushes are also great for powder foundation and blush. Diffuse concentrated product by swirling the brush in makeup, tapping to remove excess and then gently applying by using large, circular motions.
Need to set your makeup with finishing powder? Dip your kabuki brush into the product and spread evenly across your face. Be careful not to press to aggressively so as to avoid disrupting the placement of your blush, highlighter, etc.
To achieve angular, defined cheekbones and facial structure.
Contouring is a makeup application skill every beauty lover should know, but one that takes practice to perfect. Worst-case scenario when you’re attempting a good contour? Dark, unblended streaks. But we’ve got your back so you’ll never leave the house a two-toned nightmare.
The first step is investing in a good angled contour brush, it’s important to use angled brushes rather than flat brushes because they allow you to follow the natural curves of your face.
To get a contoured look, choose your dark contour color (this is the “shadow” that will serve as a contrast to the “highlight”). Usually, especially if you’re fair skinned, you don’t want to go too dark. Stick with a medium tone but take note: if it’s not dark enough, there won’t be a contrast. You have to find that Goldilocks fit.
So, you’ve got your darker contour color. Now, let’s map out your face.
If you want to minimize your forehead, trace the area with the angled contour brush near your hairline.
Next, make a pout with your face. Just under your cheekbones, use the contour brush to apply the darker tone to the hollow beneath the apples of your cheeks.
If you want to slim your chin, take the brush and make parentheses around it. And finally, add some darker lines on either side of your jaw bone. Now, your face should be mapped out with the darker contrast.
The next step is to blend everything together. It sounds simple but it’s actually the most difficult and critical part of making the contour look as natural as possible.
To blend you can use a powder brush, a kabuki brush or other full-fibered brush.
The very last step is to add a highlighter to your cheeks, forehead, nose, chin and Cupid’s bow which can be applied with smaller brushes. Use general powder brushes for highlighting larger areas.
Contouring brushes give you fine precision control over the angles with which you can achieve a Kardashian-level contour. Who needs Photoshop when you’re already picture-perfect?
To seamlessly apply foundation and blend products.
Silicone blenders are generally flat and oval or teardrop-shaped. The great part about using a silicone blender is that there is no chance of it absorbing anything, meaning that you’re not wasting precious product.
To use, dab foundation and stipple onto all parts of your face, making sure you are blending into your neckline as well. Tapping motions work best for more a natural look so focus on short, staccato motions instead of swirling as you would for a traditional brush—swirling with a silicone blender can mean smeared makeup.
Applying wet and dry foundation, blush, highlighter and concealer.
The Beauty Blender is a makeup darling of YouTube beauty stars. The Beauty Blender and other similar makeup sponges are favorited for a reason: they’re a great way to apply a multitude of products. You can use it as a primer applicator for an even, solid base. You can even use it for applying sunscreen or topical creams. Of course, most commonly, beauty-lovers use it to apply foundation and blend blush, bronzer, and highlighter.
To use with liquid foundation, run the sponge under the sink with cool or warm water and then press the sponge to remove extra water. Water helps keep the sponge from absorbing any of the makeup. Now, gently dab the sponge into the makeup product you’re using and apply some to the wrist or back of your hand for a coverage test. Then, apply product to your face using soft dabbing motions. Less is more when using a Beauty Blender.
For smaller areas, use the tip of the Beauty Blender for detail work like applying highlighter to your cupid’s bow or shimmer to brow bones.
If you’re using dry powder, simply pour some of the product onto the lid and dab the sponge directly in the product. Use the same process as you would for liquid foundation. Be aware you might have to re-moisturize the sponge as it can dry out during the application process.
Already done with your makeup but it looks a little patchy? Here’s a useful trick: use the Beauty Blender’s side and roll it across your entire face to blend in all areas of your face.
Applying highlighter, brush away makeup mistakes, and blend out dark lines.
A fan brush is shaped like—surprise—a fan. These types of makeup brushes are a great basic to have in your makeup toolbox because of their multi-use functionality.
For example, they work exceptionally well as a mistake-corrector. Maybe you’re applying a smoky eye and you got carried away the eye shadow, flecks of pigment are everywhere, and you’re a raccoon now. Gently brush away these extra flecks of color with the fan brush.
For bronzer or highlighter, use a fan to gently buff product onto your cheekbones using a sweeping motion.
You can also use fan brushes to diffuse color. Mellow out dark blush by fanning away the intensity.
An alternative use for fan brushes is to use them as an applicator for lotion, sunscreen, or concealer. It’s a gentle, soothing way to apply all manners of skincare products. Pretend you’re at a day spa, close your eyes, turn on Enya, and use the fan brush to fan away all your worries while applying your retinol cream like a real esthetician.
For the application of blush to get that fresh-faced, youthful rosiness.
A blush brush is surprisingly similar to a powdered brush. Brushes for blush are generally a little stubbier, however, as they are covering a smaller area than a powder brush. When applying blush, try to avoid Raggedy-Ann-reminiscent red circles on your cheeks.
To avoid the doll look, diffuse blush outward while applying to the apples of your cheeks. Start with light pressure and test out the pigmentation on your wrist or the back of your hand. It’s much easier to build color than it is to wipe it away after it’s already been applied.
Applying swaths of general color to your eyelids.
A general eye shadow brush is a small, usually stubby brush meant for sweeping eye shadow all across the lid and upper eye area. This is a great tool to use for eye shadow primer, as well. Simply dip the brush into the shadow, tap off excess, and apply to lids. For a more pigmented effect, you can dip the brush in water.
For smudging and contouring eye makeup.
For more proficient beauty lovers, an angled eye shadow brush is a perfect addition. Use it to add intense colors to the corner of your eye, for precise smudging, and to line your crease with a contrast color.
For creating the illusion of depth and adding a dramatic contrast to your base lid color.
Eye shadow crease brushes generally have a gentle taper; this allows tight precision when you’re adding in the final touches of your smoky eye. Use it to layer pigment where eye lid naturally folds.
For adding liner to achieve a fuller lash line or cat-eye look.
Brigitte Bardot, Twiggy, Marilyn Monroe—these icons all used a cat-eye to achieve a glamorous, sultry look. An eyeliner brush serves multiple purposes. First and foremost for your eyeliner, of course. To use, dip the brush into the eyeliner pot (often, eyeliners will have brush integrated into the product). Starting from your inner eye, draw a line outward, gradually increasing the width of the line and flicking out toward the ends.
Practice makes perfect, as they say, and is especially true for trying any sort of eyeliner techniques. The key to eyeliner is steady hands (don’t drink three cups of coffee before attempting this). Sometimes, a selfie after applying your liner is a good idea to check the similarity of your wings.
A great way to start on building your cat-eye prowess is by using the hash or dot method. Use the eyeliner brush to make small hashes or dots along your lash line and a final dot where the tip of the wing will go. Connect the dots to get to cat-eye perfection.
If you really want precision, you can use a stencil or even tape if you want to make sure the angles of both your wings match.
Used for taming and styling your brows.
Most brow brushes come double-sided—a comb side and a brush side. You can even get customizable brow kits for any eyebrow color. You can calm even the most unwieldy brows with a duo-brow brush. First, use the comb to straighten and form your brow shape.
Then, use the brush side to apply your brow product whether that’s powder or a gel. Whether cream or powder, use short staccato strokes, making sure to come to a defined point at the ends. And remember, your brows are sisters—not twins. Follow the natural shape of your brows rather than forcing them into unnatural forms. Embrace that extra tuft on your left side!
To apply mascara to your upper and lower lash lines.
Mascara wands are handy tools everyone should have. They help separate and define each lash. Before you apply your mascara with your spoolie, you can use an eyelash curler for an even more dramatic, full effect.
After curling, sweep up your mascara wand, making sure to squeegee excess product on the opening of the mascara tube to avoid excess mascara on your lashes—this way, you won’t have spider lashes or an overly sticky upper and lower lash situation.
In a pinch, use a clean mascara wand to tame your unruly brows.
Another tip: if you love a certain mascara wand, but don’t love the mascara formula, keep the wand, sanitize it, and use it with a different formula.
To precisely apply lipstick, gloss and other lip products.
Have you ever seen a toddler apply lipstick? They’re typically just trying to get the lipstick somewhere close to their lips with little to no success. Even as an adult, it can be hard to stay in the lines when you’re faced with the applicator that already comes with lip products.
So, to solve this problem you should invest in a lip brush. Simply dip the brush into your lip product and apply directly to your lips. Finish the look with a similarly colored liner.
To add lip liner after main lipstick or gloss application.
Flat and tapered, lip liners help finish your lip look. Precisely line your lips, smooth over imperfections, and gracefully shape your mouth.
While we’re talking about makeup brushes, it’s important to keep an eye on your routine to avoid infections, rashes, and other unseemly effects from using dirty brushes. To wash your brushes and keep bacteria at bay, use a gentle cleanser or brush-specific cleanser and wet the bristles (avoid getting water on the handles). Then, swirl the brush on a paper towel, or try a makeup brush cleaning wipe, and repeat until the brush is clean. Make sure there is no soap left in the bristles by rinsing them. Let the brushes air dry to preserve their shape.
Contact us to discuss your requirements of custom makeup brush. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.